Land of the Immortals
by JoT0451
Summary: The year is 2024. A 15 year-old boy is among the first few thousand players to try the newly released virtual reality remake of MMORPG "Mabinogi." What he finds, however, is more than just a game... (Rated T for violence and some language)
1. Land of the Immortals

[DISCLAIMER: I (obviously) own neither Mabinogi nor Sword Art Online. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.]

To put it simply, this story is just a concept of mine that I decided to put to paper. Being an avid fan and long-time player of MMORPG Mabinogi, I wondered what would happen if you were to combine the world/basic mechanics of this game with the basic plot of Sword Art Online. Aside from serving as a basic inspiration, this story bears little to no similarity to SAO aside from its most basic plot elements. The world and plot are, to some extent, based on Mabinogi (though I've heavily modified many details of the game to fit the story, making life within the game a bit more interesting). Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

June 14th, 2024

"…and gamers all over the world have been waiting anxiously for tonight! Full dive VRMMORPG and remake of the classic MMORPG by the same name, Mabinogi, releases to the public tonight at 6 P.M.! Only 10,000 copies of the game have been distributed to retailers, in a move that the game's publisher calls 'an effort to increase hype surrounding the title's launch.' Hundreds of gamers have been camped out near their local shops for days awaiting their own copy of this highly anticipated title! For prospective buyers of the game who may not be so…eccentric, full shipment and digital distribution of the game will begin one week from today. This game, which set the internet ablaze in what some are calling the greatest hype train in history, is already set to smash sales records in the MMO market when it fully launches next week. That's all the time we have for today's episode of the MMO Daily Podcast! As always, be sure to tune in tomorrow to keep up to date with all the latest news and content for your favorite MMORPGs."

I ripped out the earbuds and spun around in my desk chair, turning to face my bed where the NerveGear helmet was sitting, plugged in and pre-calibrated. I glanced at the clock on the nightstand. _5:47…it's almost time. _I'd been waiting a year for this moment, it was about to become reality. I was gonna be one of the first 10,000 players. I leaned back in my chair and let out a sigh of contentment. I was about to escape from this world. Start a new life. Go someplace where I could be a hero. At least, that's what I _wanted_. The reality of the situation would be much different. _Much worse._

I figured it was about time to get ready. The clock hit 5:50, and the moment of truth was almost upon me. With a light bounce, I hopped onto my bed and sat down, pulling the NerveGear helmet onto my head. The main menu popped up as an overlay, seemingly floating in front of my eyes, though this effect was simply created by the NerveGear's manipulation of the user's sense of sight. At the center of the main menu was an option to "Play Inserted Game," followed by the name "Mabinogi" and a small Celtic knot icon. Directly beneath that was a timer: "Game available in: 6 minutes, 37 seconds." _This is really happening, isn't it?_

I took a minute to recalibrate the NerveGear just to make sure there wouldn't be any issues that could take me out of the game. On a second check, though, it looked like everything was set correctly. I layed down on the bed, getting myself comfortable in a position that I'd clearly be lying for several hours. "Game available in: 2 minutes, 6 seconds." This was it.

"Game available in: 1 minute, 46 seconds…1 minute, 15 seconds…58 seconds…23 seconds…" And, finally, with a ding and flash of color, the main menu lit up as the "Play Inserted Game" option became green instead of gray. Taking a deep breath, I pressed the button.

In an instant, I was overcome by a terrifying feeling of being flung through space. Everything was white. But, almost as quickly as it had begun, the sensation ended. The screen lit up with a message: "Welcome to Mabinogi Online!"

I was in an empty black room. In front of me was a keyboard panel, floating in mid-air as though suspended by invisible wires. As I walked toward it, the room suddenly lit up in a burst of light. The circular walls became screens adorned with logos and screenshots from the game, along with the same welcome message from a moment ago. A female voice echoed from all around me: "Please enter your character's name."

Hmmm…character name? I'd never really thought about it before then, so I decided I'd just use a name I'd picked for another RPG I'd played. Cyril seemed to stand out to me amongst the bunch, so I entered it quickly and pressed Enter.

The voice boomed once again. "The NerveGear will now perform a high-resolution facial scan. Your character's appearance will be based off of this information, and your height and weight values will be entered as detected by the initial calibration process of the device." An MMO without character creation? Well, to be fair, they never _did _mention that in the pre-release info... "Character creation process complete. Please press the button on your menu input panel to enter the game world." A small window popped up in front of me with a prompt asking if I was ready to be sent to the game world. Without hesitation, I clicked yes.

Instantly, I was overcome by the same flying sensation from earlier, though it lasted considerably longer this time. A few seconds later, when it stopped, I waited for something to happen for a few seconds. That is, until I realized that my eyes had been closed. As I opened my eyes, I felt a cool breeze brush my arm. And then, I saw them. The trees, the sky, the sun…this was truly another world, maybe even more real than Earth itself. A small text notification appeared near the top of my vision, alerting me to the fact that I was apparently in the town of "Tir Chonaill."

I looked around, and found that I was standing on a small dirt road in the center of the town. Towering above me was a massive tree that adorned the town square. Aside from one or two other players, the place seemed relatively empty. Maybe I'd been one of the first of log in? In a few seconds, though, dozens of other players began to appear in flashes of light, logging into this world for the first time.

It was beautiful, this virtual world. The experience of truly living within a game is unmatched. In fact, the first thing I did was run around touching everything in sight just to see whether every object actually had a texture to it. They did. Wood fences felt like wood, stone felt like stone, and grass moved and bent in your hands. "So this is virtual reality…" I whispered in amazement, as I took in the scope of the game. _No sense wasting any time…let's play this damn thing!_

* * *

"Cheers, guys!"

The town's tavern was bustling with new players looking to pick up groups, find quests hints, or just have a good time. One table in the corner, seemingly occupied by a group of friends that knew each other in real life, was toasting the game's launch over a few mugs of ale. I wasn't there to drink, though: I needed to find someone to group up with to start clearing the local dungeon and its related quests. While scouting the place out, I noticed a guy sitting by himself at the bar, flipping through the pages of a small book. I grabbed a seat next to him and leaned over to speak.

"Hey there, what's your name?"

He looked over at me with a confused expression. "Uh, it's Radis. And you?"

"Cyril. Nice to meet you!" I reached out my hand to shake, but Radis didn't respond. I took the initiative to continue the conversation. "So, uh…you in a party?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I like to play these games solo on my first run. You know how it is. I'd rather not have people rush me through the quests."

"Hey, I get that you like playing solo," I replied, "but I'm looking for someone to help me clear the local dungeon for a quest. You sure you're not interested in all that XP and loot…?"

Radis's eyes lit up. "Well, if there's loot involved…"

"_That's _what I like to hear! Now, why don't we head to over to the dungeon?" I patted Radis on the back, to which he responded with an uncomfortable look. Together, we made our way out the door of the tavern.

"So, Radis," I asked, "what's your class?" He hesistated, thinking carefully about his response for some reason.

"I'm probably gonna build a sword and shield character. Rumors from the beta test say this game gets _really_ hard in the higher level areas. No better way to stay safe than to bring a shield, I'd say." He reached a hand around and patted the wooden shield on his back.

We kept walking for another 20 minutes or so until we finally crossed the river east of town and made it to the fields. "Well, apparently it's _that _way," I said, pointing to the northeast. "Looks like we gotta cross a lot of field, though. Watch out for mobs."

A few minutes later, we passed the town pasture, where I picked up a quest from the local NPC. Something about learning to make a campfire? At the edge of the pasture, there was a wooden sign posted on the fence which contained a very curtly worded warning about wolves in the northern fields.

"Wolves…" Radis moaned. "They can't be too hard, right?"

"I fought some wolves like an hour ago. They were pretty easy, to be honest. Seems like they could be a pain in the ass in packs, though."

As if on cue, loud barking and snarling began from behind us. I spun around, coming face to face with three big, black wolves. "Black Dire Wolf…" I muttered, drawing my sword. Radis did the same, assuming a combat stance.

"These are Dire Wolves? Doesn't that mean they're tougher?"

"I guess so…doesn't mean we can't take 'em!" I sidestepped the first wolf as it charged us head-on, letting it barrel past us and skid to a halt. I laughed as I watched the wolf try desperately to regain its balance. The second wolf tried a similar attack pattern, but this time Radis deflected the pouncing beast with his shield.

"Hey, this seems pretty easy!" Radis smirked as he sidestepped yet another charging wolf. Suddenly, though, all three wolves changed their attack pattern, beginning a coordinated charge at the same time. Their target? Radis. Unable to block from all sides at the same time, Radis quickly found himself overwhelmed and forced onto the ground.

"Don't worry! I got ya!" I ran over and slashed at one of the wolves, but the other two simply kept up the attack. Now the one I'd attacked had switched its aggression to me, forcing me to switch to a defensive stance. There was a beep as Radis's HP fell below 50% and into the yellow zone.

"A little help here!?" Radis was trying to force the wolves off of him, but they were too heavy to push away. With a quick slash, I managed to kill the wolf that had been targeting me, and rushed over to Radis's aid. There was a flash of light behind me as the wolf exploded into sparks and disappeared. With one long, running slash, I was able to draw the aggression of both wolves, but only as Radis saw his HP drop below 25%: the red zone.

I deftly maneuvered around the two attackers, avoiding their bites at every turn, but I needed to do more than just buy time. Through the party window, I could see Radis's HP and status effects: he was quickly losing HP to the bleeding effect from the wolves' fangs. I needed to hurry. Quickly, I loaded my Windmill skill, using it to spin around and hit both wolves at once. One of the them died from the hit, while the other merely flew back a few feet and stood up to attack once again.

"Hang on, dude! I'm coming!" I braced myself for the final wolf's oncoming blow, and counterattacked at the last second, killing it. I immediately dropped over and ran to Radis to help him heal, but I realized at the last moment that there was nothing I could do: I had no HP potions. _Damn, I should have restocked in town!_ Radis was down a mere sliver of HP. "Nothing I can do, man. Sorry…I'll meet you back in town when you respawn, alright?" Radis nodded his head before, in an instant, he burst into light and disappeared. I stood up and wiped the grass and blood off my pants. "Poor bastard. An XP penalty for death can be rough, especially when you're low-leveled like this."

* * *

It was only on my way back to town that I realized something might be wrong. After all, Radis was no longer in my party. Sure, he might have left the party right after he respawned but why would he do that and cut off any ability to communicate with me? Something didn't make sense. But hey, maybe he was just a little mad at me since getting killed set him back by a few thousand XP?

When I made it back to town, I immediately checked for Radis in the tavern. He wasn't there, though, or, at least, certainly not in the spot he'd been before. I scoped out the whole tavern, but there was no sign of him anywhere. No one in the pub knew where he was either, which, I guess, was to be expected: he _was_ a solo player, after all.

I was about ready to give up on my search. In fact, I was just about to leave the tavern when a notification popped up on my menu. "Alert: Administrator Message." I pressed the accept button on the prompt, and an audio clip immediately started playing. I looked around the pub, and it seemed everyone else was listening to the same thing.

The recording consisted simply of a female voice reading a message. "Hello, players! This message has been sent to address several concerns that players have raised to our Game Masters during our first few hours of launch. One of the first and most common questions presented to us was regarding the absence of the logout button from the main menu. This is correct: there is _no _logout button in your menu. This is not a defect, however. This is how Mabinogi Online is intended to be played." There was a sudden gasp from several people inside the tavern, while others frantically opened their menus to check the validity of this claim. _What the hell are they talking about? There's no way that-…what the hell!? It's not there! _A quick search of my menu had revealed that they were right. There _was_ no logout button. In confusion, I listened on. "That is correct. There is no way to log yourself out of the game. Furthermore, no one outside of the game may log you out by removing the NerveGear helmet from your head. Should someone attempt to do so, an electrical signal from the device will end your life by destroying your brain stem." Suddenly, there was an air of panic within the tavern. "Additionally, it has come to our attention that many players have concerns regarding the respawn system. Let it be known: there is _no _respawn system within this game. Should your HP reach 0, your avatar will be permanently deleted and the NerveGear helmet will simultaneously end your life." Gasps of shock could be heard throughout the tavern.

"What a load of crap!" laughed some guy from the opposite side of the tavern. "You seriously believe this?"Several people at his table snickered alongside him.

The voice message continued. "As of now, there is only one way to escape from the game: it must be cleared." Confused murmurs echoed throughout the room. "As you advance through the game and complete quests, you will be able to gather clues as to how you must beat the game. Until this goal is achieved, you will remain unable to log out."

At that moment, I was struck by a sudden realization. When Radis died to those wolves…when his HP hit zero…he actually died!? "Our development staff and game masters wish you all, the players, the best of luck in clearing the game. Thank you for playing!" The window closed, and the recording ended. There was nothing more. For a brief moment, the tavern was completely silent. Within seconds, though, shouting began, with angry players screaming at one another left and right. Like everyone else, I needed to come to terms with what was happening, so I made my way outside.

The sun was setting. Once again, I felt the cool breeze on my skin. I didn't want to believe everything I'd just heard, but…at the same time…what choice did I have? What choice did anyone have? Everything I'd seen only supported the claim. No way to logout, Radis disappearing…a virtual reality death game might not have been so far-fetched after all. But this game? In this world? Erinn was supposed to be the land of the immortal Milletians. But now?

There would be only one way to survive in this world: I needed to get stronger. No, not just that. I needed to be the _strongest_, so that no one could ever threaten me. This world may have been dangerous, but I knew it couldn't beat me. And so, the death game began.


	2. The Death Game Begins

June 21st, 2024

"…listen, if you're not gonna contribute to this meeting-"

"You think that just because I'm trying to be realistic, I have a grudge against you?" I stood up and paced around the table as I spoke. "Listen, Amren…you've got the wrong idea. I think we all want to beat this game, right? My problem with _you_ is that you don't seem to understand that at this rate all we're going to accomplish is getting ourselves killed!"

"So what do you suggest then, huh!? We sit around and kill trash mobs all day?" Amren slammed his fist down on the table. "You claim to want to clear the game, but your actions prove otherwise. Looks like _you're _just in it for yourself!" Amren was upset, clearly, but understandably so. He'd called together this meeting of all willing players in the Tir Chonaill area to find out how to beat the game, but so far we'd learned nothing and he'd met nothing but opposition.

"In it for myself? Are you _kidding_ me!? I just want to make sure we don't all get slaughtered in some random dungeon because our 'fearless leader' didn't want us to train first!" I placed my hands down on the table, examining the world map that was laid out upon it. "Remember the message from day 1?" I asked. "It said that in order to clear the game, we'd have to first complete quests to figure out the method."

Amren lashed out. "And you're going to believe the bastards that locked us up in this hellhole!?"

"What other choice do we have?" I glared at Amren for a moment, then looked around the rest of the table at the 20 or so other players who had attended the meeting. "Look, I have _just as much _resentment toward the developers as you do, Amren. But so far, they're our only source of information!"

Amren tried to hold back his rage. "Listen to me, Cyril. I'm only going to say this once. Tonight, we're raiding the Ciar Dungeon, and you have no say in the matter! Whether or not you come along is your own choice, but I swear: continue to interfere in my affairs and I'll…"

"You'll what, huh?" I demanded. "You'll kill me? Well, that'd certainly be ironic considering your 'noble intentions.'" There were laughs from all around the table, which quickly ceased as Amren rose from his chair to face me. I cut him off before he had a chance to speak. "Alright, alright. I'll come along with your little 'game clearing party.' If anything happens in the dungeon, though, don't point the finger at me when all's said and done."

* * *

We left town that night just after sundown, eventually reaching the dungeon entrance a little over an hour later. The dungeon lobby was cold and dark, illuminated only by a single torch on the back wall. At the center of the room stood a large statue of the Goddess Morrighan, which was positioned directly in front of the dungeon's altar.

Amren turned to face us, his "subordinates," many of whom had taken this opportunity to sit down and lean against the walls of the dungeon. "Let's take a head count before we go inside! I need to make sure that none of you chickened out of this raid." Amren began to read off a list of names. "Aaron!"

"Here," a burly man with a mace strapped to his waist responded.

"Adan!" There was no response at first, but after a few seconds a hooded man in the back of the room raised his hand as if to signal his presence.

"Cyril!" Amren glared at me, showing his obvious resentment. I responded with a laugh, which only angered him further.

I took this time to manage my inventory, equipping my best armor and applying a blessing to my sword. If the rumors of this area's difficulty for new players held true, we'd need all the firepower we could get. Across the room, I could see my other party members were doing the same. There were 19 of us in total, including Amren. Hopefully more than enough to clear the dungeon, but all it took was one mistake…

"Everyone's here. We can head inside, then." Amren reached into his pouch and pulled out a small scroll: the Dungeon Pass. He stepped onto the altar and unfurled the scroll, holding it out in front of him. For a moment, nothing happened, but the room suddenly lit up as the scroll began to glow. The goddess statue's eyes, too, began to burn with a fiery white light. As the two burned brightly into each other's gazes, the scroll turned to dust, floating downward onto the floor of the altar. Amren held up a hand, signaling everyone to hold, and, moments later, there was a great sound of grinding as the Goddess statue slid backwards across the floor, revealing a downward staircase. Amren waved to the party and signaled us to follow.

As we descended into the dungeon tunnels, the air grew moist and cold. I was given a torch to carry, though it barely lit up the way at all considering the sheer length of the tunnel. It was minutes of walking before we even reached the first room.

We piled out of the small tunnel and into the square room, which was, surprisingly, fairly brightly lit. The large wooden exit door, to our right, was firmly locked. At the center of the room sat a small chest; to an amateur adventure, this would be an enticing trap. We knew what we were doing though. Amren ordered us all into attack position, then, carefully, tapped the lock of the chest with the blade of his sword.

In an instant, a metal gate slammed shut behind us, cutting off access to the tunnel. The room was overcome by bursts of light as various monsters spawned all around us. "You know what to do!" Amren shouted, charging at a goblin and impaling it with his sword.

I stuck to the corner at first, examining the spawn patterns. _Looks like 10 goblins, 20 spiders...maybe 5 imps? _My thoughts were cut short as I was struck in the shoulder by an arrow from across the room. I saw a goblin archer chuckle at me as he danced around in celebration. "Cheeky bastard…" I muttered.

With so many people fighting in one room, it was difficult to keep track of my targets. Firebolts, flung by our amateur mages, sailed at monsters from all directions. Arrows, too, filled the air like bugs, zipping around and hitting everything around them. Deciding it would be best to stay back, rather than try to fight in this mess, I fell back to the corner, hopping over a small spider on the way, which responded aptly by taking a strike at my leg.

After removing what remained of the goblin's arrow from my shoulder, I drew my sword and confronted what mobs had aggroed me. The spider from a moment ago was joined by a friend, who both attacked me simultaneously. I crouched down in an effort to block their attacks. Though one spider bit directly into the hilt of my sword, the other took the opportunity to leap onto my head, sinking its fangs into my forehead. I shook the first off my head and nailed the other with a kick, sending it flying to its death. The other spider attacked once again, but this time I was ready to counterattack. I struck quickly, slashing it straight down the middle and killing it with a single blow. From the other side of the room, I could see Amren shouting orders, though most of the monsters, by this point, were already dead.

In another couple moments, the final few goblins fell and the door slammed open with a crash. Amren, who was down to about 50% of his HP by now, stepped forward. "That was a great fight, everyone." He pulled a potion from his belt and began to drink. "Shouldn't be too much longer before we reach the boss. This dungeon, based on our information, is very short, comprised of only a few rooms." Everyone walked into the hallway to the next room, but I couldn't help but notice that one man was staying behind the group: a hooded archer. I recognized him from before, but…what was his name again?

"Hey, you there!" I ran over to him. "Pretty easy fight, eh?"

The archer looked at me in, presumably, annoyance, though I couldn't see his face through the hood and had no way of knowing. After a pause, he spoke. "You're right."

"Uh…what?" I questioned.

"Are you deaf? I said you were right." He craned to neck to look at the hallway, where the rest of the party was marching onward. "Amren _is_ an idiot. And he's going to get all of these men killed."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I stepped back, eyeing the man once over.

"These monsters? They're easy, sure. And he's right that the dungeon is short. But did he ever once mention the boss?"

"The boss? We don't even know what it is! Not even the info brokers have been through here to find out."

"Red Golem. 12,000 HP. 300 attack damage. It has an AoE Stomp ability that can hit the entire boss room. It's also immune to stun. That's the boss."

I looked at him in shock. "That's not freaking possible…there's no way he has that much HP! How the hell do you even know this?"

He grabbed me by the shoulder and leaned in close. "Because I've _beaten_ this dungeon before. I know all the ins and outs of this place. And I know that every single person in this party is going to die when they fight that boss!"

I froze for a moment. "But if you knew this…why wouldn't you tell Amren? Why wouldn't you call off the raid!?"

"Do you honestly think that such an idiotic, headstrong man like Amren would listen to me if I 'questioned' the power of his forces? If I doubted his 'supreme intelligence?' The only reason I'm here is to ensure that at least some of you make it out alive." The archer took his hand off my shoulder. "I know you understand. I was at the meeting. I saw your disagreements with Amren. You _know _he wouldn't have listened to me. To you. To any of us!"

"Damn it, then we need to catch up with the rest of the party before it's too late!" I ran out of the room and into the hallway, the hooded ranger following close behind.

"By this point, they may have already found the boss. If we're locked out of the room, they're done for…"

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen! We've fought hard today, but the hardest battle is yet to come. Our scouts have yet been unable to find any information on this dungeon's boss, but, with our willpower and combined strength, I _know_ that we can handle anything!" Amren held up the large, red key to the boss room. "Be prepared for anything, people." Amren inserted the key into the door lock and pushed the huge, wooden door open, revealing a large, empty room.

I entered the room just in time to see the rest of the party filing into the boss room without question. "Come on, this way," I signaled to my unnamed ally. We entered the boss room, following close behind our party members.

"Be vigilant," I heard Amren say. "No sign of the boss ye-" Amren was cut off as the door to the boss room slammed shut behind us. Several party members screamed in fear, while others drew their weapons and prepared to fight. "Don't be afraid!" Amren commanded. "We can defeat it!" And then, from the corner of the room, the boss revealed itself.

The massive pile of stone rubble in the northeast corner wasn't a pile of rubble, after all: it was a golem. The stones lifted themselves into the air, as if attached into invisible cranes, and haphazardly pulled themselves together to form a huge, lumbering figure. There was a defeaning roar as the monster came to life. A text notification appeared near the top of my vision: "Red Golem."

"Do not retreat!" shouted Amren. "It's not as tough as it looks!"

A sword and shield user, taking Amren's order, charged forward and attacked the golem, only to find that his attack did not even dent the boss's HP bar. The massive rock beast stared down at him for a moment, then swiped at him with its massive arm of sharpened stone. There was a flash of light as he died, killed in a single hit.

Panic ensued. Party members ran for the door where we had come in, pounding on it in the hopes it would open. Amren continued to shout at us, but no one listened. The hooded archer was right: we had walked into our own deaths. I glanced over at him, but he was already on the move, charging the boss.

"We've got to kill this damn thing! It's the only way out!" I shouted, signaling to the others. Some turned and rushed in with us, but others refused to fight in fear. Along with three others, I charged into the fray.

The archer was already fighting hard, dancing around the golem's feet and flinging arrows, though his attacks weren't doing spectacular damage. "Split up and hit it from all sides," I shouted at the melee users. The tactic seemed to be working. The golem couldn't hit any of us, provided we continued to move sideways around its feet. The golem's first health bar of four dipped into the yellow zone as we continued our assault. "This is working! Keep going!"

Amren, who had been watching from the other side of the room, charged into the fight. "This is going to take forever! We need to focus our strikes! Everyone attack from the rear!" Our other party members, confused and anxious, took the order, and shifted around to the monster's backside.

"Amren, what the hell are you doing!?" The archer shouted as he continued to fight. "It has a swipe attack! You're all going to-" In that instant, the golem swung its arm in upward strike, sending all four of them, Amren and the three others, flying into the air. Two of them died instantly from the force of the blow, with the third bursting into light and dying from fall damage as he hit the ground.

"Insubordination! Now you see what you've done!" cried an injured Amren. His HP had dropped into the red zone from that hit alone, and he was trying to retreat, but the fall had crippled his leg. "You've killed me, you fool! You just _had_ to draw the boss's attention to me!"

The golem, spying a low health target, prepared to strike at Amren, raising its arm high for a smash. "This is…all your fault!" Amren's last words echoed across the room as he was crushed by the golem's blow. With a roar, the golem reassumed his defense stance.

"Amren, you idiot…" I groaned. But I had no time to dwell on it. The archer's flurry of arrows had steadily drained the golem's HP, dropping it down now to its final HP gauge.

"Watch out! It's going to change its attack pattern!" The archer signaled at me to back up, but it was too late to react. With no warning, the golem slammed its arms to the ground, blasting me backwards in a massive shockwave. I watched my HP go from full to a mere sliver in a single hit.

The golem, as before with Amren, detected a low health target, and focused in on me. It lumbered its way across the room, preparing to strike. With barely a tenth of my HP left, I knew that another hit would be my end. But this…was this really how it ended for me? Would I really die here because of Amren's hubris?

As the golem continued to make its way toward me, I watched its final HP bar be slowly drained by the constant stream of arrows assaulting it from behind. The archer…he was doing a lot damage, but it wasn't nearly enough. In that instant, I knew it was over. My life, my adventure, my goal of clearing the game…it all disappeared from in front of me as I saw that golem approach and prepare its attack.

Suddenly, I saw Radis's face in my mind, the poor kid who'd died to wolves on the first day of the death game. _I should be glad,_ I thought. _I made it this far._ _I was lucky. _So, I closed my eyes. I had no desire to see the end. I heard shouting from all directions and a loud crash, but it made no difference to me. My muscles tensed as I prepared for my untimely death. And then…

Nothing. Nothing at all. In fear, I cracked open my eyes, but the golem was gone. _Am I dead…?_ I sat up, and the golem's fate became clear to me in an instant. On the floor, a mere few feet in front of me, was the golem. Dead. On its back stood my savior, the hooded archer, with his scimitar's blade lodged in the golem's craggy exterior.

"But…how?" I asked in shock. I glanced up at my health bar, which still sat at about 10%.

"Dude, I should've told you," the archer laughed. "My sword does _way_ more damage than my bow. The only reason I fight with a bow is because it's more fun against trash mobs like this guy," he said, pointing down at the golem. A second later, it exploded in sparks. A text notification popped up above its head, congratulating us on defeating the boss.

"Do you have any idea how close that was!?" I shouted.

The archer didn't answer. He simply walked over and held out his hand to help me up. Once I was on my feet, he patted me on the shoulder. "Look, kid. The name's Adan. I need to get out of here, since I've got a meeting to catch. When you get a chance, though, track me down. I'll help you get some levels in and improve that crappy gear of yours."

"Woah, woah, did you just insult my gear?" I joked. Adan was already gone though, heading for the exit. "Damn…what kind of guy saves someone's life and just walks away like that?" Still though, he was certainly a strong fighter, considering the fact that he practically soloed that golem. I decided I'd take him up on his offer when I got back to town. I could use a strong party member like him anyway.


	3. The Masked Ranger

June 22nd, 2024

I awoke to the sound of shouting. Confused and still half-asleep, I rolled out of bed and walked over to the door of my room, opening it slowly. _Some people have no manners, I swear…do they have any idea how early it is?_

"Well, it's not _my_ fault you're an over-possessive loot whore!"

"Hey, hey, you know you don't need the bonus dexterity from the enchantment like _I_ do."

I peeked around the corner to get a better look at the two arguing. Maybe 20 feet down the hall, a boy and a girl, no older than 25 between them, were locked in a heated shouting match, tugging back and forth on what looked like a piece of armor. "The chestplate dropped for _me!_" the girl shouted, yanking it from the boy's hands.

"You don't even _use_ bows, though! Why do you need the dexterity enchantment?" the boy cried, reaching hopelessly for the piece of armor.

_7 A.M., and these guys are already arguing over a loot drop?_ I decided I'd head out then. No sense in trying to sleep over the noise of this sideshow. I went back into my room, equipped my armor, grabbed my items, and left a few coins as a tip for the innkeeper. On my way out of the inn, I pushed my way past the couple, whose argument was still in progress.

As I opened the front door to the inn and stepped outside, I was greeted by the warm rays of the sun. In the distance, sheep grazed on the fields. Birds in nearby trees sang their songs, welcoming the new day…a new day that 5 men from last night's dungeon raid didn't live to see. I tried to keep it off my mind, but I couldn't; this world was beautiful but sinister. Seeing a morning like this only reinforced that. The poor bastards that had their lives cut short by Amren's stupidity were gone, killed by his hands.

I needed to track down Adan. Last night, he'd told me to find him when I got back to town. There was just one problem with that, though: I had no idea where the hell I was supposed to look. No harm in trying, though. With that in mind, I headed for the town square. Maybe I could ask some of the town's more permanent residents if they'd seen him there.

Tir Chonaill was a peaceful town situated high in the mountains. It was pretty far flung from any location of importance, but, that said, it was certainly not a bad place to live. From the hillsides here, you could look south and get a stunning view of the rest of the Uladh continent. Every day, on my way out of the inn, I'd always take a few minutes just to admire the view, searching for points of importance and even other players on the nearby roads. This morning, the air was especially clear and fogless, so I could see all the way to the southern coast and Port Ceann. With a sigh, I continued down the path to the town square.

To reach the square from here, you had to pass the lake, where many players spent their time honing their fishing skill. Personally, I didn't have the patience for fishing, but it looked like many people found it enjoyable. Plus, this seemed like as good a day as any to sit by the lake. I waved to the aspiring fishermen as I passed, who all responded with various gestures of kindness, including one man who tried to wave back, only to lose his grip on the pole as he got a bite and have his pole dragged into the lake. The fisherman scratched his head sheepishly.

Further down the road, I passed the school, where budding warriors were practicing their combat techniques. Upon passing the main gate, I was accosted by a middle-aged man. "Hey, you there!" he called out. "We're looking for volunteers to spar with the students! You have a few minutes of your time to spare?" I shrugged in agreement, and walked through the gate and into the school's courtyard.

The man patted me on the back. "Alright, alright! I'm Ranald, and I teach the 'youngsters' here how to fight with a sword. Isn't that right?" There were groans from the students, who, I assume, didn't like being called youngsters. Most of them looked about 20 years old anyway, though age probably had no correlation with their combat ineptitude. "Now, we're just gonna run through some sparring exercises. Oren, you're up first!" Ranald looked back to me. "Show this kid who's boss, alright? Prove he's still got something to learn."

Fighting against students? I wasn't too sure how I felt about this. It _would_ be in a duel, so there was no risk of death, but I didn't exactly want to hurt anyone's feelings. Considering these guys were taking classes, they had to be at least 20 levels below me. When the notification for the duel request appeared on my screen, I quickly accepted it. The countdown began: 5…4…3…2…1…

The battle began, and I assumed a defensive stance, waiting for my opponent to make the first move. He adopted an aggressive style, barreling straight at me for a wide slashing blow. I easily sidestepped to the left and, with a single hit, knocked the sword from his hand and ending the duel within seconds. A notification appeared over my head, proclaiming that I was the winner. Ranald came over and grabbed my hand, holding it up high into the air.

"Bravo! An _excellent_ display of swordsmanship! Oren, you could learn much from this man!" Ranald released my hand. "I'm sure you're very busy, so I'll let you go. Just know that we could use your help here any time." The students all groaned in unison; I'm sure none of them were too happy about having me brought in with the express purpose of beating them in a duel. I shrugged it off, and left the courtyard with an awkward wave. _Poor_ _kid, _I thought, _didn't__ even get to land a hit…_

I climbed the hill to the town square, passing several people on the way. For so early in the morning, the town sure seemed to be wide awake. I decided I'd start my data mining at the tavern, since most people gathered there for business meetings and the like. It was only a short walk there from the town square, so I headed straight there.

I entered the building to find a pretty sizable turn-out, which was surprising. This many people came here to drink at this time of the morning? I headed over to a table in the corner where a group of a half dozen mercenaries were seated. If anyone would know where this guy was, it'd be these guys. "Hey, are any of you guys familiar with the name Adan?"

There was some head scratching and whispering, but none of them seemed to know. Except for one, at least. "Adan…" the man pondered, "you mean that archer guy that never shows his face?" Suddenly, it looked as though all the men at the table knew who he was talking about.

"That's the one," I replied. "He told me to track him down so he could help me out."

The mercenary burst out laughing. "He told you to track him down? Good luck with that, kid. That bastard hasn't exactly made a positive reputation for himself around here. I wouldn't be surprised if he left town for good."

I looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean? What's wrong with his reputation?"

"Aside from cheating our guild out of loan money, stealing our loot, and harassing our members?" The mercenary picked up his mug, took a swig, and set it back down. "Let's just say that you _never_ interfere in the Black Hand's business if you want to keep on living."

Either Adan was a complete liar and criminal or these guys just had some kind of personal vendetta against him. Neither one mattered so long as I got my information. "I don't particularly care about bad business between the two of you. But do you have any idea where he was last?"

The merc shrugged. "I went lookin' for him last night to collect on his debts, but he said he was going north to the snowfields. After a rare item or something like that."

That was exactly the info I needed. "Well, thanks for the help then. I'll be go-"

"Hold up a minute. Let me just warn you, kid. We're from the Black Hand, and I swear: if you and this guy are planning _anything-_" Another man at the table grabbed his hand forcefully, cutting him off. They both smiled at me awkwardly. _The snowfields, eh? Better start searching._

* * *

The area north of Tir Chonaill was Sidhe Sneachta, home of the snowfields. The mercenaries from earlier had said that Adan would be here, but I wasn't so sure. What reason would he have to come all this way? What would he be looking for? Then again, clearly I must have had _some_ faith in his presence here. Otherwise I wouldn't have shown up at all, would I?

Sidhe Sneachta wasn't a very large place, but the frigid cold was so uncomfortable it made every minute spent here feel like a dozen. I made my way across the southern snowfields, killing the occasional coyote here and there. This area was full of them, but they weren't particularly threatening. It was when I was about halfway to the other side of the snowfields that I was beginning to give up hope. He wouldn't really come this far, would he? There's nothing here…

Suddenly, an arrow fired from a nearby tree picked off a lone coyote. Moments later, a familiar figure appeared in the treeline. "Didn't see ya there!" Adan hopped down from his perch and walked over, slinging his bow over his shoulder. We exchanged a handshake. "So, you tracked me down, eh? Hoping to get a few pointers?" he laughed. "I don't think I ever caught your name, kid."

"It's Cyril. I'm surprised you never asked before now."

"It was never _important_ to me before now," he replied.

I pondered for a moment, then spoke. "Look, I'm not here because I want to train or anything like that. I just wanted to know if…well…"

"Spit it out, dude, I don't have all day," Adan laughed.

"I found out where you were from some mercenaries in town who said they were from the Black Hand." I whispered now, almost although I was hiding my words from an invisible eavesdropper. "They said they were looking for you, too. Something about collecting money?"

"Damn it, they know where I am?" Adan looked around nervously. "Listen to me, Cyril. The Black Hand is a criminal guild. They loaned me some money, then mugged me and stole all my rare items to pay themselves back. Now they're after _me_ because I don't have any of the money they already stole back."

I stared at him, wide-eyed. "You sure it's safe for you to go back to town with all this going on?"

Adan didn't respond. I tried to speak again, but he put a hand over my mouth to keep me quiet. He was looking around intently, searching for something. Finally, he spoke. "Whoever's out there," he growled, "show yourself. Now!"

There was snickering and laughter as 6 heavily armed men emerged from the treeline. The same six men from the tavern. "You know," said one of the mercenaries, "I really should thank you." He pointed at me. "After all, your stupidity led us right to our target." He laughed for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "You know the rules, Adan. Pay up," he said, unsheathing his battleaxe, "or die."

"Using an innocent kid to track me down? I gotta admit, that's a lot more than I would've thought you guys were capable of," Adan joked. "Really though, let's be honest. When it comes to hiding, you guys need some serious improvement." Without warning, the thugs charged straight at us. Adan was ready, though. With lightning-fast reflexes, he drew his bow and began unleashing shot after shot. I drew my sword and prepared to fight.

The mercs split off, with two of them targeting me. "Hey, what's the matter?" I joked. "I only get to fight two of you?" I sidestepped the first mercenary's blow, watching his mace swing aimlessly into the open air. As the second, a sword wielder, prepared to attack, I braced for the blow, deflecting it with the blade of my own sword and pushing the attacker back. "That's all you guys got?"

The two thugs didn't take kindly to this, both rushing at me simultaneously. I was able to parry one of the hits, but the mace user's blow connected with my back, flinging me, face down, into the snow. I rolled over just in time to see the sword user standing over me, preparing to stab downward. His life was cut short, however, by an arrow shot from afar. In the distance, I saw Adan wink at me as he kept up the attack on his own assailants.

With one fluid movement, I leapt to my feet, coming face to face with the remaining thug. He went for a downward strike, but once again I was able to sidestep, this time slashing him on my way past. "Shoulda brought a faster weapon," I joked. "Your mace can't hit a damn thing!" The mercenary, now enraged, once again ran at me and tried to attack. This time he opted for a horizontal strike, which I easily avoided by crouching. Using this opening, I retaliated with a quick stab, finishing the job. Both mercenaries died as they exploded into sparks.

I looked over to Adan, now, who was fighting furiously. With a sword in one hand and what looked like a claw-type weapon in the other, he was slashing rapidly in every direction, somehow managing to press the attack on all sides. I was going to run to his aid, but clearly he didn't need help. Two of his four attackers were dead within seconds, and the third, trying to retreat, was picked off by an arrow fired with deadly accuracy. Now, only the leader of the group remained.

I jogged over as Adan kicked him to the ground, holding him in place by way of a foot on his neck. "Now," Adan said, "go home. Go home and tell your guild master I'm not paying you bastards a dime!" Adan grabbed the thug by the collar and shoved him off towards the path. Scared for his life, the mook kept running until he was out of sight.

"Holy crap, dude," I panted, trying to catch my breath. "How'd you get so strong?"

"How do you think? Power-leveling," he replied. "Levels are everything in this game. Sure, there's some degree of individual skill attached to the combat system, but once you have all the skills, the system practically does everything for you." He brushed the snow and blood off his robe.

"So, that's it then? We took care of those guys. I doubt they'll bother you again," I said.

"You think they'll give up now? They're too stupid for that. Don't worry, they'll be back. And next time, they'll be even _more_ pissed off." Adan laughed, sheathing his blade and stashing his bow. "You gotta give these guys credit for one thing, though: they sure are relentless."

I looked over at the path back to town. "So…what now? If these guys are just gonna follow you wherever you go, shouldn't we just leave this town? Head to a different area?"

"No. We don't leave," Adan said. "We give 'em what they want: finish what we started. We kill every last one of them."


	4. A Forlorn Hope

June 22nd, 2024

By now, it was nearly dusk. Adan and I crossed the portal that led us back to town after about a half-hour of walking from where we'd fought off the Black Hand. There was something suspicious about those guys, for sure. The way they charged into a fight they knew they couldn't win…either they really _were_ stupid, or they were hiding something. Plus, why were they so aggressive? If, like Adan said, they were just after some money, surely they wouldn't have launched an all-out attack? "So," I said, "where the hell did these guys even come from? The Black Hand, that is."

Adan thought for a moment. "Well, I don't really know much about them, to be honest. The band of loan sharks we had a run-in with back there just showed up in town maybe…3 days ago? This guild is definitely part of a larger criminal operation, though."

"Maybe that _was_ all of them, then. After all, if those guys were the only ones from that guild who even showed up here, the others might not know anything about this." I looked over to my right, the west, where the sun was nearly below the horizon.

"Oh, trust me," Adan said. "Those thugs would've contacted their guild if they were going after such a high priority hit. I wouldn't be surprised if their whole damn guild is on its way here now." He laughed. "I should probably tell you the truth about what happened between me and the Black Hand. Fact of the matter is, I don't just owe them a little money. 'bout three days ago, these guys from the guild showed up in town and set up shop here, running counterfeit loans and stealing valuable items. I decided to start looking into them. Find out why they were here, you know? I ended up having a stand-off with them on the road just south of here when I caught them trying to kidnap some girl to ransom her off. I killed about three of the bastards, and the other couple of 'em ran off towards Dunbarton."

"So it's a vendetta, then?" I asked.

"You could say that. I guess the management doesn't take too kindly to having their lackeys killed," joked Adan. As we reached the northern path into town, the sun set fully and night began. "Don't you just love the weather here?" Adan sighed. "It's a shame people have to go and ruin this place by taking it too seriously. Yeah, clearing the game's important and all, but what's wrong with taking some time to relax, you know?"

"I know exactly what you mean," I smiled. "There's nothing wrong with taking some time to stop and smell the roses." I thought back to Amren, and laughed a bit.

"What are _you_ laughing about?"

"Nah, just thinking about an old 'friend,' is all. Remember the dumbass that almost got us killed in the dungeon?"

"No, no, no. He almost got _you_ killed. I was fine." Adan slugged me in the shoulder with a laugh. "Lighten up a little, dude. Just messin' around."

"So," I said, breaking the momentary silence, "what's your plan? What are we gonna do about the Black Hand?"

"Well," Adan replied, considering his response carefully, "I actually don't know. We _could_ let them come to us. No doubt they're after us now." Adan flinched a bit in surprise as a message notification appeared in front of him. "What's this…?" He tapped the icon, opening up a message that consisted of about a paragraph of text.

"Well?" I asked impatiently. "What is it?"

Adan paused a moment, reading the message to himself. "It's from…someone named Rilaw? He says he's the leader of the Black Hand." He continued to read. "He wants me to meet him at the Dugald Logging Camp as soon as possible to discuss business." Adan closed the message and looked blankly at the road ahead of us.

"You can't seriously be considering this, right? They'll kill you!" I said.

Adan grabbed me by the shoulders. "Do you think I have any other choice!? I can't let these guys continue their operations. If the leader of the guild is gonna be there, this is my chance to shut them down for good." Adan pushed me away lightly and kept walking.

I jogged momentarily to catch up, stopping him. "You can do whatever you want," I said. "I can't stop you. But first, I want you to answer a question for me." He looked at me in confusion. "Just tell me…why are you doing this? Why are you so intent on destroying this guild? We've been trapped in this game barely a week and you're already on some kind of damn crusade for the 'betterment of the people!' Something's going on here, and it's got to do with a lot more than some kidnapping you foiled a few days ago."

Adan sighed. "Look, kid. There are just some things I can't discuss. At least, not here; not now. I hope you'll believe me, though, when I say that I have my intentions." He began to walk, then paused a moment to speak again. "If you don't want to come with me, then that's your choice. This isn't your fight, and I'm not gonna force you. You're a strong fighter though…I could use your help."

"What," I laughed, "you really thought I was gonna let you get yourself killed without at least helping first? This may not be my fight, but I don't let good men die on my watch. If you're going, I'm coming too."

* * *

The Dugald Logging Camp was located a fair ways south of Tir Chonaill in the Dugald Aisle, a long stretch of grassland and cliffs that connected Tir Chonaill to the metropolitan city of Dunbarton. It wasn't exactly a secluded area, considering the fact that it was seated directly in the center of a major crossroads connecting four separate main roadways across Uladh. Maybe that's what the Black Hand wanted, though: a spectacle. Kill the rebels, take their money, and prove to everyone watching that the Black Hand doesn't take kindly to being undermined.

We wasted no time. After a quick stop in town for healing and gear repairs, we set off on the path leading south of town. On foot, the walk from town to the camp was about an hour. At our pace, though, it was barely 40 minutes. It was around 8 P.M. when we approached the camp. Even from a long distance, we could see the torches lighting up the usually-dark area; torches held by the hands of bandits. From this, we could judge their numbers, and I realized that this would be a suicide mission. We walked the final few hundred feet, reaching the camp's entrance.

There were about 20 of them: the Black Hand. "This must be their entire force," Adan muttered. "He's insane…" The thugs, all dressed in uniformly matching black robes, split into two lines, forming an aisle into the camp as we passed. Finally, as the last of them stepped aside, their leader was revealed, seated atop a huge, black stallion. Though his face was concealed by a hood, much like the one worn by Adan, he was still a menacing sight. "Rilaw," Adan growled.

"You know him!?" I shouted. Adan ignored me, instead placing a hand firmly on his bow.

"I knew you couldn't resist my offer, Adan." Rilaw forcefully ripped off his hood, revealing his face and letting his black hair billow in the wind. His eyes were wide and bloodshot, giving him an air of insanity. Rilaw spurred his horse, moving forward about 10 feet to where we stood. "I never thought you were a fool, Adan, but now…I'm not so sure. If you value your life, you shouldn't have come here. I'm sure that you know by now that I have to kill you." Rilaw reached around to his back, where he pulled a black claymore from its sheath.

"If you think I came here to fight, then _you're_ the fool." Adan paused for a moment, briefly appearing as though deep in though. "I came here to warn you. To offer you one last chance to let all of this go and be reasonable."

In an instant, Rilaw exploded with rage. "_Me!? Be reasonable!? _The Black Hand is the only thing protecting me from idiots like you…people who think this world is _theirs_ for the taking! Anarchists who serve nothing but their own self-interest!"

"Sounds a lot like you," Adan said solemnly. "Your fear's blinded you. You've somehow deluded yourself into thinking that _I'm_ the evil one. And why? Because I refused to help you form a criminal organization to murder and steal from innocent players!?"

"You abandoned me and became a renegade. You refused to enter the pact. For this, I couldn't trust you. You've become just like everyone else in this world…selfish! Self-serving!"

"I refused to enter the 'pact' because I had no interest in your pathetic gang of thugs you pass off as the 'Black Hand.' You're no righteous man. You're a damn coward!" Tears began to run down Adan's face as he shouted. _What the hell?_ I thought.

Rilaw looked over to two his seconds-in-command, who were standing on either side of him. "This discussion is over," he said. "Kill the bastard and end this mess once and for all. I'll be at the safehouse. Come find me when the job is done." Rilaw began turning his horse, preparing to ride away.

"Wait!" Rilaw stopped in his tracks at the sound of Adan's voice. "If you're going to kill me…like this…I want you to do one thing for me first." Rilaw looked onward, waiting for Adan to continue. "I want you to look at me…look at my face…one last time. See if you're really so far gone that you can stomach this act even when confronted such a sight." Without hesitation, Adan ripped off his hood. There was a tearing sound as the fabric ripped apart, separating the hood from the cloak, both of which fell to the ground, revealing the leather armor beneath. Adan's long, blond hair flowed out behind his head like a banner, hovering on the breeze. His eyes were filled with tears.

"You would think me to be so weak-willed?" Rilaw laughed.

"It's true then." Adan sighed and stared at the ground, his voice wavering as he tried to hold back more tears. "You're gone." Adan looked back up now, glaring angrily at Rilaw. "Go, then. Leave and let your thugs kill me like the dog you clearly think I am. But, someday, this will all catch up to you. Your crimes won't go unpunished."

"Silus, Mercury," Rilaw said impatiently, "finish this." The two officers looked at Adan, then back at Rilaw, both shaking furiously in fear; whether because of Adan or Rilaw was unclear. After a long hesitation, the two officers finally unsheathed their weapons and approached us. Rilaw spurred his horse, riding away into the dark fog.

Adan looked disapprovingly at the two. "I can't believe this," he said. "He doesn't own you. Why do you obey his orders?"

"Adan, I know it's not fair," one of them said, "but if we don't kill you, he'll kill us."

"For what it's worth," said the other, "I'm sorry about this."

The fight began as the two officers immediately charged at Adan, swinging their blades wildly. With a swift dodge roll, Adan leapt to safety and reached for his bow. "This is suicidal!" Adan shouted. "Just give it up! We can fight back against him together!" The two paid his words no mind, moving in for the attack once again. Meanwhile, the minions off the side simply watched the spectacle. As the two closed in, Adan leapt into the air, dealing a sharp kick to both of their jaws. As the two stumbled backwards, he fired a single arrow into the knee of one of the officers, temporarily immobilizing him.

At this moment, the 15 or so thugs from the sidelines jumped into the fray and I knew it was time to join the fight. I unsheathed my sword and charged directly at one of Adan's attackers, taking him down with a wide slash. As another came at me from behind, I knocked him onto his stomach with a powerful kick, then finished him with a downward stab. I then performed a circular windmill slash, killing at least two more. "You guys never give up, do you?" I laughed, continuing my assault.

I glanced over to see how Adan was holding up. In that instant, there was a loud sound of tearing flesh as I watched the blade of a sword emerge from my chest. _How…?_ My entire vision went red. Then, there was darkness.

* * *

"Adan…is that you…?" I groped for my chest, expecting to feel the sword still lodged there, but I found nothing. I snapped my eyes open, but my vision was still blurry and it took a moment for things to come into focus. In front of me, I could see two figures, one lying on their back with the other bent down over them. "Adan?"

Still dazed, I crawled my way towards them. As things cleared, I could make out Adan, kneeling over the body of another man: one of the officers from before. "Do you regret it now?" I heard Adan ask, holding himself back from sobbing. "You're dying...this is your last chance."

The man responded with a voice barely louder than a whisper. "You would've done the same to protect yourself…" he uttered, only an instant before dying and exploding into light. There was loud sobbing as Adan fell to his hands and knees. As I stood up, Adan took notice of me. "Thank god," he cried out. "Thank god you're not dead." I looked into his eyes, which were red and filled with tears. "I couldn't save them, Cyril…I couldn't…"

"Just calm down," I said. "I need you to explain this to me…how you know Rilaw, who _they_ are…everything."

Adan looked up at me, and began to speak. "It was last summer. That's when this began. My closest three friends and I were MMO addicts. We'd raid together basically every day, and spend all our free-time at school planning our next raids and discussing loot drops. Last summer was the official reveal of this game…the official reveal of the full-dive VR environment. Or, at least, the first time it had been used in a commercial product.

"Without hesitation, all four of us pre-ordered copies of the game. We couldn't wait to get our hands on it, and, as a result, the next year was agonizing. Last week, we camped out for two days at the local shop to make sure we'd be one of the first 10,000 people to play. Sure enough, we all managed to grab our copies, and, on release night, we all logged in. My friends…Ryan and Jason. They chose the aliases Silus and Mercury, respectively. Then, there was Michael. The 'leader' of our group, so to speak. He decided to go by the same alias he'd used in every other MMO we'd played. He chose…Rilaw.

"Our first few hours in the game were great, and we were having more fun than we'd ever had before. Until, of course, the system message. We were all freaked out, of course, but Michael took it especially hard. He started losing his mind. He became very aggressive, blamed everyone for his problems, threatened suicide…and that's when he got the idea for his 'master plan.'

"Initially, he called it 'The Pact.' It was a guild, of sorts, but mostly just an agreement between the four of us he wanted to make which would require that, should any of us kill any of the others, we would be required to kill the one who perpetrated the act. A fair agreement, in a sense, but also the workings of a paranoid man's mind.

"I was initially prepared to sign the agreement, until he announced what it would truly comprise of. The Black Hand. Michael was so paranoid about being killed that he built a personal army to defend himself against his 'enemies.' It's incredible, really, what fear can do to a man's mind. He was so afraid of dying within this game that, to prove his own denial as to the death game's credibility, he set his personal army of thugs and murderers loose on the world, wreaking havoc in every town. Stealing money, murdering innocents…these men would do anything to get a few coins in their pocket. And, with the almighty Rilaw protecting them, they'd have a safety net.

"Needless to say, I refused to go along with this. My two other friends, though, were afraid of what Michael had become. They immediately accepted the agreement, fearing for their lives. Michael, seeing that I had refused to accept his terms, became scared. He thought that, since I refused to agree not to kill him, I was _clearly_ plotting his murder. In response, the newly named Rilaw sent a group of his thugs to Tir Chonaill to find and kill me, since he thought that was the only way to prevent his 'murder.' Then I met you. And the rest...well...

Adan put his head down, crying once again. "Do you understand my pain now? Do you have any idea what it's like to kill your best friends?"

"I'm so sorry…you should have told me-"

"No. Telling you would have made this worse. If you had known the truth from the start, you wouldn't have helped me do this. You wouldn't have…helped me kill them." Adan tried to hold back tears as he was once again hit by the realization of what he'd done.

"It's okay," I said, comforting him. "They didn't give you any choice…"

"Don't you get it? This is about more than survival." Adan stood up now, staring down at the road to Dunbarton. "This _game_ is about more than survival. Do you honestly think that after all of these…terrible things we've done that we can just go home? I don't know how long we'll be forced to live in this world, and maybe we'll never get out, but…surviving here? That's not what's important. What's important is hanging on to who you are no matter what. In that respect, I failed…"

There was a long pause. "So," I said grimly, "what do we do now?"

Adan looked at me. "We live. We keep living as best we can in this hell. Because living is more than just survival, Cyril. Living is fulfillment. Living is happiness. We need to prove that this game can't beat us. We need to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again." Adan placed his hand on my shoulder. "This world is full of opportunities. Let's not waste them." And, together, we began our long walk on the road south towards the heart of Uladh.

* * *

**Next Chapter: The Heart of Uladh**


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